Once Upon a Time
by Ensiho
Summary: Chapter 6 up. Lena is sent on her first solomission, get Dracula the capture her and gain his trust...sounds fun, doesn't it?Ch : Back in the Abby. Karl, Van Helsing, and the Cardinal have a runin, and Karl storms off.
1. Sanctuary

Authors Note:

After much deliberation, I decided to upload this. I dunno quite why, I don't have any fans or anything. And I know some of these facts aren't right (Karl in the movie is Carl, The church where Van Helsing works is in Rome). Ah well. I write more my own amusement, not for the pleasure of others. To me, writing about one thing to make _me_ happy means so much more than writing about a whole bunch of things just to make others happy.

Chapter One

Sanctuary

Running. That's what she remembered. Running. The tree branches, leaves, and twigs ripping at her face as she ran through the forest. Her shoes slipping on the scattered leaves that littered the wet pavement. She didn't want to look back over her shoulder, she was too afraid. Finally she saw a cathedral ahead, Notre Dam. For an instant there was actually a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

A figure tore past her, and instantly she felt a white hot pain on the side of her cheek. She tried to ignore it and keep going, swinging past the figure in order to get to the steps of the church. She didn't know what it was that was following her…the night sky seemed to help whatever it was by disguising its identity.

She stumbled and went down, looking up at the steps of the church once more. She was so close, she couldn't give up now. There was a whistling sound, and she rolled over, barely missing the claws that cracked the ground beside her. She pushed herself to all fours, crawling forward, then standing and running. Her legs were numb, and her breath came in short stabs…but when she was so close to safety, she didn't care.

A man had walked out onto the steps. From what the girl could see through her tear-blurred vision, it looked like it might've been a priest, or possibly a monk. He noticed her, and quickly ran down the steps as she staggered and fell one more time. The creature looked to the man and let out a low growl, running back into the trees from where it came. The girl tried to breath, but her vision was leaving her. With this man she knew she was safe, and she could sense that the creature had left her.

The last thing she remembered was being picked up and carried into the church, and feeling the warm air rush to her…

She awoke to voices, maybe three, around her. She slowly opened her eyes, her vision still blurred. She could feel something being pressed to her head, then it was removed and she heard the swishing of water before it was replaced. The soft mattress beneath her and the quilted covers that covered her told her she was in a bed, but she still didn't know who was talking.

"I'm worried about her."

"She's a young girl, Karl! What does it matter if she's so young? Being slashed by a werewolf, this will only lead to another were-wolf. But she's so young she could kill for years. I say let me shoot her." There was a click of a gun being cocked.

"Van Helsing! How dare you say such of a young girl! And in another matter, I'd expect _you_ to know everything about werewolves! Only a bite will curse her, not merely a slash."

"What do we do?" The voice the girl registered to be Karl whispered.

"Take care of her." This one sounded Irish.

"Who, me?" Karl again.

"You found her, Karl. She'll be your responsibility should you wish to keep her." The Irish man told him.

"Well, why doesn't Van Helsing raise her? She could help him when she grows older. You never know what uses she could—she's awake!" Karl alerted the others.

Slowly her vision was beginning to clear, and the throbbing pain of her cheek was growing more and more prominent. She looked to a man in brown robes, the man that was on the steps when she'd collapsed. He was the one pressing a cloth to her head. There were two more men, one in white and red robes, and one in all black with a hat in his hand. It had grown very quiet, and everyone was watching her carefully.

Maybe two minutes passed before any of them realized the girl wouldn't be the first to talk. Karl was the first. He seemed to be the smartest of the bunch, but then again she couldn't tell if she was really awake.

"Can you tell us your name?" The man with short-blond hair asked her.

"L-Lena…" She whispered, much to the glee of the men around her.

"Great!" Karl seemed more than delighted. "I'm Karl, that over there is Van Helsing (he gave a bow), and this is Father Marcury (another bow). How old are you?" Karl asked as Father Marcury hustled off to go get her some food.

"Um…I'm only nine." Karl seemed taken aback. He knew she was young but….not that young. She noticed his look of minor shock, and blinked at him. He looked down at her and gave a meek smile.

"Its all right…you're safe now. We'll do everything we can to help you get better. I'm assuming you have no safe place to live, so we'll keep you here…you can one day work with Van Helsing."

Lena looked up at him and felt a certain type of trust. It was the kind all young children have, when they know who is safe and who is not…the kind where they feel just _right_ with that person. And that was what Karl was. He was safe. She smiled at him and reached up, giving him a rather large hug before laying back and drifting off to sleep.


	2. Ready or Not

Authors Note:

Apparently you enjoyed the first chapter. Well, I feel good about that. Enjoy, my friends. (And this takes place before the movie, just to let you know.)

Chapter 2

Past to Present

It had been seven years since that fateful day that Lena had been found. She was now 16, and helping out Van Helsing in his missions. Much to his dismay when she first started, she was now growing better, and he now accepted her as a partner. She seemed to hate the vile monsters as much as he did, if not more.

Her past had been discovered slowly. Her parents were killed by the werewolf that was chasing her, sent by Dracula himself to kill off the family, for a reason unbeknownst to them. Their burning house was found deep in the woods, embers shooting up past the trees only to slowly die into ashes.

Karl had taken full responsibility for caring for her, the only exception being when she would go on trips with Van Helsing. In this case, Van Helsing himself would take responsibility for her. This greatly annoyed her, in her opinion she could take care of herself, and no one needed to take responsibility for her. But she'd learned to look to Karl as a fatherly figure.

And now she was learning to be nearly as great a hunter as Helsing himself, no one realizing she was there until the body struck the ground. She'd also unfortunately taken a bit of Van Helsings personality, usually killing the monster rather than bringing him back to Order.

But now was when things got serious. Now she'd been given an assignment all her own. Out of all the years she'd been helping Van Helsing, this one would be the most important. Dracula had been found; they knew where he was. But sending Van Helsing would do no good, they needed to attack him from the inside, and to do that they'd have to get him to abduct her as a future 'bride'. She was beautiful enough for it to work; she just had to get his attention.

"After he's got you in the castle, earn his trust." Father Marcury was telling her. "Once his trust is gained, you will then find out how to kill him. The hard part will be extracting you from the castle to get the information."

"Why can't I just send you a message of some sort?" She looked to Karl, the genius.

"Because sending any messages from his castle is nearly impossible. It would take me nearly a week to invent something for it to work, and we need you to go in there as soon as possible." He explained. She sighed and looked to Van Helsing.

"And you've got nothing?"

"Nothing." He replied to her. "But I can get you to the village that he usually attacks. One of his brides has been killed and he's on the prowl for another."

At this, the plan was worked out. Van Helsing and Karl would take her to the small Transylvanian village always attacked by Dracula's brides. She'd stab him with the stake to get his attention (it was noted that every time a bride was killed, he went in place of that bride to find another) and he would then, hopefully, take her to his castle after picking her up. After spending a few days gaining his trust, she'd discover his weakness and find a way out to send them a message. Easy, no?

"You can't be serious." Lena mumbled, walking out of the cathedral dressed in a tight red T-shirt and tight red jeans. "Its winter. This is tight and _thin_" she glared at Karl. "And it's uncomfortable. Can't I change into something more…weather oriented?" She searched for the right words.

Van Helsing and Karl walked on either side of her, Van Helsing suppressing his laughter and Karl staring ahead blankly, listening to Lena's rants. She hated anything that stuck to her, anything that was tight, she refused to wear. It had to be baggy…always.

"It's what Transylvanians wear." He shrugged, instantly earning a retort from her.

"And how would you know!" She snapped at him. "You haven't been there!"

Karl merely rolled his eyes and kept walking, leading her to the carriage that would take her to the small village. It was about a half an hour's walk through whispering wind and dusting snow, and it didn't help that Lena was complaining the entire way. Needless to say, Karl couldn't help but smile as they dropped her off and left as she entered the carriage.

So she sat in the carriage silently, waiting for the nearly two hours to arrive at her destination, where her first solo mission would begin.


	3. to the village, to the castle

Authors note:

Sorry, guys! I've had LOADS of homework and finals, so I studied instead of uploading. I'll make it up to you guys by uploading as much as possible over the next few weeks, k? Don't give up hope on me! D

"Stupid…good for nothing…they don't wear tight leather…the wear peasants cloaks…Hi, I'm Mr. I-know-everything and I—WAH!" Lena jumped as she ran into someone. Apologizing, she moved on through the village, trying to find out exactly what she'd be doing. Wearing the tight clothes made her uncomfortable, and when she was uncomfortable, she wasn't very friendly.

There was no turning back now, the carriage long gone. She chuckled to herself as she pictured the infuriated drivers face as she whined at him. Everything from 'I'm cold' to 'I don't wanna go'. She just loved to annoy people, especially when they were so easily irritated.

"Oof, excuse me, miss…would you know where—" She began to ask a woman that walked by, but the woman kept on shuffling by, ignoring the strangers words. "Hm. Guess not…sir? Sir!" She waved down at man who actually stopped and looked at her. "Would you know where I could find an inn?" She asked. The man laughed, tipping his top-hat to her and grinning, showing his disgusting teeth.

She winced in disgust as the man brushed a strand of greasy white-blond hair out of his eyes and made his way towards her. He again dipped his head in a small bow before talking to her.

"Hello, you must be new here." He chuckled. "For anyone who lives here knows that there is no inn. My suggestion would be to keep moving, and look in the next village." He turned to walk away.

"Wait!" She called with reluctance, not wanting to talk to the disgusting man. But he seemed to be the only one that knew anything or would talk to her. "Isn't this the village that is plagued by vampires?"

The last word drew his attention, and he turned with his eyes narrowed. His expression had changed from polite and mildly creepy, to irritated and _very_ creepy. She stepped back, wondering if she'd angered him.

"Why would you want to know a thing like that?" He asked, striding towards her and backing her into a wall.

"I…uh…was just curious…" she stammered. Now the man had a knife, and all the villagers had noticed what was going on and had gathered around. She stared at the man, her mouth partially open and eyes narrowed in fear.

"Answer truthfully, newcomer." The knife was at her throat. Instincts kicked in as she felt the blade against her skin. In lightning reflexes, she caught his elbow and pulled his arm away, jumping behind his back and twisting his arm. He let out a sharp cry of pain and staggered forward as she shoved him and ran. He turned and glared at her, calling out to the rest of the peasants to chase after her. She looked over her shoulder, trying to suppress her laughter.

Suddenly a screech pierced the air. Lena stood dead in her tracks and looked up at the sky. Four winged creatures were soaring through the air, one much larger than the rest. Her heart began to race as she realized that it must be the vampires. She turned tail and sprinted in the opposite direction, the peasants already scattering and making for their way inside. She began to form a plan, wondering what was going to happen.

This could be bad. She hadn't expected Dracula to show up with his brides. Now she had to ensure that she'd be caught and carried back by Dracula, not one of his brides. If she were caught by a bride, she'd most likely be bitten and killed. But if she were caught by Dracula himself, the risk still presented itself. It was a matter of luck and words.

One of the girls flew towards Lena, and her claws grazed the air above her head as she threw herself to the ground. She flipped on her back to see the other two girls coming towards her, the larger one flying in circles around the village.

Lena pushed herself to her feet, turning to see the vampiress coming towards her again. She waited until the last minute to duck to the side, narrowly avoiding another collision.

The three lady vampires were now in human form, walking in circles around her almost tauntingly. One with black hair chuckled, speaking for the first time while the rest laughed and toyed with her, lunging forward and swiping at her, only to back her into the other, who would repeat the process.

"You must be a newcomer here, young girl." She smiled devilishly.

"New blood…fresh blood for my master…" The red-haired vampire spoke.

"Tell us your name, girly." Another blond vampire spoke. Lena looked around in a panic, trying to find a way out.

"My name is Lena. I beg of you, please do not kill me." She tried to sound as afraid as possible. Hopefully she could make a run for it and give Dracula a chance to catch her. She didn't want to sound too confident, for fear of rousing suspicion. The red-haired vampire clicked her tongue, cackling.

"My master needs fresh blood…I can see it in you…racing with your heart." She hissed. Lena took it as her cue and dove in an opening between the two. She broke through and ran for it, looking up for the larger figure. She smiled to herself as it paused in the air, looking at them. She turned and kept running, taking her eyes off of him for a brief moment.

The girl vampires were in a monster-form now, flying into the air and quickly catching up to her. She stopped suddenly and watched them fly past, then turned and ran. She looked up again for the larger figure, but to her horror saw nothing. Her heart began to race, and her breathing grew heavy in panic. She didn't like not knowing where he was, that could be catastrophic. She frantically searched the air for Dracula, knowing that if she didn't find him, her plan could fail.

There was a loud roar from behind her, and Lena yelped as she felt something dig into her shoulders and her feet leaving the ground. She looked down at the ground that quickly fell away, and felt overcome with primal fear. She looked at her right shoulder, and winced as she saw several streaks of blood making their way down her arm.

Sinking into her shoulder were claws, large ones. They dug deep into her skin mercilessly, holding her in a firm grip. There was another roar, the same one as before. She looked down below her, seeing the village disappearing and three figures appearing below her. The vampire brides. Wait….three…? Vampire bri—

She swore. Dracula had her. How could she have been so lucky as to have him catch her and take her away without so much as _trying_ to bite her? At least her plan had worked…now hopefully Dracula would be taking her to his castle somewhere.

It was a long flight, and her shoulders were throbbing, but they'd made it. He dropped her a little ways above the stone ground, letting her land on her feet before he landed himself.

She landed and fell to her knees almost instantly, skidding a few inches before stopping. She stayed where she was, not turning around as she heard footsteps. She put her hand to her right shoulder and winces, feeling the blood steadily ooze from the wounds. She closed her eyes trying to endure the pain. She'd never experienced pain such as this before, never in all her fights along side Van Helsing.

She heard a deep Transylvanian accent come from behind her.

"Welcome, Lena, to Castle Dracula."


	4. Why The Challenge?

Authors note:

All hail Hoppy-Chan, for she has helped me work out this plot thingy for the chapter! Thank you Hoppy! I demand that all of you put 'thank you hoppy' in your reviews for this chapter…or I shall not update…mwahahahaha…lol

The voice startled her, though she tried to hide it. She turned only her head to look out of the corner of her eye at him, not wanting to turn her entire body just yet. On the outside, she appeared only slightly afraid…on the inside she was on the edge of a panic attack. Her training with Van Helsing had helped, but now she was faced with _the_ Dracula…the one that could kill her any time he wanted…he was the only one stronger than her, and she knew it.

"I hope you'll find it quite comfortable…you'll be here for a while." He seemed so calm…so casual.

"How do you know my name?" She asked him straight out, now turning to face him. He stared intently at her, knowing how afraid she really was. He chuckled softly, stepping towards her. Though he didn't seem threatening as of yet, she still scrambled backwards, finding her legs still numb with fear.

"Don't fear me." He gave her a crafty smile. "And if you must, don't hide it." He extended a hand to help her up. She merely glared at it, tempted to spit at him. Holding herself back, she felt a stone wall behind her and used it to help her to her feet. He frowned slightly, but decided against getting angry with her.

"Master…" A bride with blond hair walked in front of him, embracing him in a large hug. He looked down at her and almost uncaringly wrapped his arms around her. Lena could tell that he _was_ showing compassion…just not very much of it. She snorted and put her hands in her pockets, watching the other two brides join the first in a sort of morbid group hug.

Lena jumped as she felt something metal in one of her pockets, and that's when she remembered it: Stakes. Karl had given her a few retractable ones, small enough to fit in her pocket without being noticed, but once extended formed a lethal weapon against vampires. She smirked to herself, a plan forming in her mind.

"We have done well, Master?" The blond bride asked again. Dracula took his eyes off of Lena almost hesitantly, but looked down at the bride.

"Yes, Marishka." He told her, earning a happy squeal from each of the brides. Marishka looked over her shoulder at Lena, narrowing her eyes in a glare. Lena childishly stuck her tongue out, provoking her.

There was a high pitched squeal as Marishka charged Lena, her mind in overdrive with anger and sending her into somewhat of a bloodlust. Lena just barely dodged Marishka's attack, and moved to the right to allow the vampire to run into the wall. As she'd expected, the bride turned and charged again. Lena was knocked backwards, and hit the ground with Marishka pinning her, growing nearer and nearer to her neck.

For some reason, Lena had expected Dracula to do something…but apparently not. He stood and watched in disapproval at the two rolling around like toddlers on the ground. She tried to push the much stronger bride off, but smirked to herself when she found she couldn't. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stake, her heart racing as she pressed it to the vampire's chest.

Marishka cackled in her ear-piercing amusement. Lena now let the smirk spread across her lips.

"Too bad your only weapon won't work." Marishka hissed, ready to sink her fangs into Lena's neck as the three others watched.

"And too bad you're too blond enough to see a little button on the side." Lena pressed a button on the side of the stake that caused it to extend straight through the bride's unbeating heart.

The deafening screech soon died out as the bride faded into dust. Lena stood, dusting herself off and looking up at Dracula, who'd watched the ashes float away in the small breeze. She could tell he was saddened, but he apparently didn't have much emotion in him. He turned to look at her, silent and unmoving.

"I _think_ we may have gotten off on the wrong foot…" She gave him an embarrassed smile. He frowned and shook his head with a sight, wondering why he'd taken Van Helsing's challenge in the first place.


	5. New Home

Authors Note:

HOMIGOSH! I'm SO sorry that this took so long! I've been up at my Uncles house and didn't have any time to upload…I'll make it up to you guys…I swear! Sorry the chapter is kind of short…but I'm not as Dracula-obsessed as I used to be. XD ok, I'll try and do more soon.

After some discussion (Lena thought it was more like an argument) Dracula had lead his new guest to what would become her room. For now, he wanted to leave her there until he knew what was going to happen next. He didn't want to make any rash decisions, so he thought it best to calm down before talking to her again.

She sat on her bed, staring at the door that Dracula had disappeared through. He'd just…left her here…he said 'stay here' and was gone. True it confused her, but it gave her time to think of Van Helsing, and when he'd be coming to get her once again. Also, she'd have to think of different ways of getting him to trust her.

Climbing off the bed and rising to her feet, she walked over to the large window. She stretched and yawned before finally looking out at the sight before her.

The crimson auburn of the sunset faded, giving way to the mysteries of the darkness. The moon itself seemed to illuminate everything from the distant sea to the castle below. Through her window she could see the entire castle, or what looked like it. She watched through her own, other windows that gave her a clear view of the laboratory, what appeared to be the kitchen, and other rooms that she wasn't sure she wanted to identify.

She jumped as the door opened, but turning, she saw no one. She furrowed her brow in slight confusion, but turned back to the window. She could feel a presence in the room with her, but every time she'd turn to look, there was nothing there. Instead, her thoughts turned to Karl and Van Helsing.

"Just let me know how long you're going to take…" She whispered quietly under her breath.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother taunting him." A voice beside her made Lena jump and fall to the ground. She closed her eyes, rubbing the back of her head where she'd hit the ground. Re-opening them, she saw Dracula hanging from the ceiling. So that was why she never saw him…

Yet he was right next to her, eyes fixed on her in a piercing gaze. He couldn't help but chuckle as her eyes narrowed towards him.

"You speak of the man who sent you." He leapt, flipping in the air and landing on his feet, yet again offering her a hand up. Reluctantly, she took it, knowing she'd have to gain his trust eventually.

"Yeah, I do." She muttered, dusting herself off.

"Ah, our history together." Dracula smiled, turning to look out the window. Lena watched him cautiously, knowing how powerful vampires could be thanks to Karl and his little lessons. "He has yet to remember everything that happened." He trailed off, turning to walk back out the door. Apparently, he just wanted to startle her.

"What happened?" Lena asked after him, turning to watch him go. He looked over his shoulder, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.

"That is for you to discover for yourself…" He continued on his way out the door, closing it behind him.

Lena snorted, returning to the bed and sitting on it, wrapping the covers around her. For a brief moment, she began to sulk, and then remembered that she wasn't home. Sulking wouldn't get her what she wanted like it would when she was with Karl. She laughed to herself, remembering a time when she'd wanted the 'Father' to make a one-of-a-kind sword for her, and asked Karl to tell him.

Yet when Karl told her 'no', she'd gone to her room and lay in her bed, her back to the door. Sure enough, he'd come in a few minutes later, trying to talk to her. All she'd do was glare at him. Finally, after about 15 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to talk to her, he'd stalked off and come back an hour later with the sword she'd wanted. And then she'd give him a large hug, kiss him on the cheek and squeal happily.

"Come soon." Lena looked out the window with a faint smile.


	6. Back in the Abby

Authors Note:

Ok, guys…sorry that I haven't been writing for like, forever. There've been a lot of things going on, and I'll try to update more often, Kay? SOOO Sorry for the looong delay. Hope my fans are still out there…sorry it's kind of short.

Chapter 6:

Back in the Abby

"No. There's no time for this foolishness." Karl muttered, prodding a man with his finger to keep him moving. The man grunted and reluctantly moved forward, becoming another of Karl's many experiments.

With a start, he heard Van Helsing yelling in anger at the Cardinal. Turning, he saw the two standing face-to-face. They were talking about Lena, he overheard. Slowly, he made his way towards them, not making it obvious that he was eavesdropping. The saddening realization hit him as he pieced the parts together.

"What do you mean we can't get there in time!" Van Helsing snapped, growing impatient with the Cardinal, who continued to remain calm.

"We don't have enough field men for now. If you and Karl plan to go alone it'll take six months."

"And how much longer if we wait?" Van Helsing dropped his voice to a lower volume, now speaking normally.

"A little over a year. But you've got more chances of surviving if you wait."

"She can't wait over a year." Both the Cardinal's and Van Helsing's attention were drawn to Karl, who'd appeared closer to them. The Cardinal obviously showed some pity for him, as he walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, my son…there's nothing you can do."

"Erroneous!" Karl snapped, pushing his hand away. "There's got to be a way to get her sooner, weather I lay my life on the line or not!" He took a step back, the Cardinal watching him in his eerily calm manner.

"Karl, there's—"Van Helsing began. Karl quickly silenced him with a glare…the kind that he hardly ever gave, the one that came from a tear in his heart. Van Helsing had seen the glare once before, and that was when his first (and so far only) love had left him, and Van Helsing had made a comment about it. But that was it; he'd only seen it then…and now…

"I'm going after her." Karl snapped in a harsh whisper. "Stay here if you want…but I'll be halfway to Transylvania before you try to stop me."

And with that, he turned and was off, grabbing his small leather bag which contained all he needed: a small journal, a few trinkets, a couple silver stakes, and some money that he might need for later. All he'd need for a trip to Transylvania…all he needed to save Lena.


End file.
